This perhaps was because of the poor operations, image and financial state of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) the government owned telecom monopoly which had operated for over four decades and had performed dismally.

A few months after the kick-off of GSM technology here, enterprising and daring Nigerians went for the offers presented by the first GSM entrants, MTN and Econet. These offers were mainly for distributorship and sales of recharge cards and the opportunity of opening up call centers. Capital was still an issue with these individuals as Nigeria's Per Capita Income (PCI) was still very low and bank funding was difficult to come by unless you were ready to pay the stifling interest rate that was as high as 35 percent

But for those that had made up their minds to take a bet on the new technology, the risk of high interest rate was no barrier. So many Nigerians went into it, taking loans from banks to start off distributorships for the mobile operators. Business was good, the funds were coming in, there was good understanding between the operators and the distributors; good money was coming in.

By the end of 2002, Nigeria was perceived as the fastest growing GSM (telecoms) market with a growth that rose from 500,000 in August 2001 to 2,271,050 in December 2002. This simply meant that those that took the initial risk of going into distributorship deal with operators were making money. Their status as major distributors provided that they formed a trickle-down channel, getting dealers and sub-dealers to dispense the products to the final consumers, which by now was getting to be more than the available products.

For every terminated call, a major distributor had profit coming, depending on who sold the Sim Pack. They had their commission and the operators were fair enough to them. Then the blackmail started.

Being the major source of financing for the distributors and dealers, the banks realised that they could play directly with the operators, thereby taking the commissions which the distributors had so far enjoyed. Afterall they were also in business.

So just about two year into the GSM revolution, distributors and banks started fighting for attention with the operators. The distributors were in dire straits as the the banks had the funds; the operators wanted a favourable bargain which the banks gave. The banks could fund the operators as well; their commission could be less because they would deal directly with sub dealers and the consumers. The deal was good.

The relationship between the banks and the distributors started deteriorating. The funds were not forthcoming despite the willingness of the distributors to pay the heavy interest rate that ranged between 30 and 35 percent. The rug had been pulled from under the distributors' feet.

Many of the distributors went underground. With the taking over of the business by the 'big boys with the money bag', many distributors who still believed in the business came down on their knees to become minor dealers. The business was not as lucrative as it used to be.

After the market had been split and banks had delved into GSM business as 'authorised distributors', the body of individual distributors made series of complaints to the operators with a clear message "Use us or see your business crippled". The argument was that banks could not market to the majority of Nigerians that need the services of the operators as effectively as the trickle-down economics of going through the individual distributors.

According to Joan Elumelu, former president of Delta State Association of Econet Distributors, the operators looked closely and saw the difference, then they called us back and resumed dealing with us."

Speaking further on what she called the highjack, Elumelu noted that her company made a proposal to some banks to partner on GSM airtime vending but her initiative was turned down and was later used as an initiative of the bank. "It was that bad," she said. Three years after the advent of GSM, the operators' quest for expansion and infrastructure development gave the banks an opportunity to leave the fries and go for the big fish.

The skepticism about the volatility of the market and its Return on Investment (RoI) opportunities still frightened off some banks. They wanted to tread cautiously. There had been the bitter experience with Nitel and banks wouldn't want to engage in a long term loan disbursement agreement with GSM operators. The 2001 Investment International (London) Limited (IILL) take over bid of Nitel of course added to the fright. To this, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) lost a whopping $137 million. The bank's strong capital base was able to cushion the effect it might have had on the bank sustainability, but some new generation banks would not have survived it.

It did not, however, come as a surprise in 2004 when banks started conglomerating to give financial support to operators for network expansion. This was because the financials of these telecom operators were going up and the banks knew it was time to plug in.

The private telecom operators (PTOs) were not left alone. With the new drive for telecom, fixed lines were also in want. The Nigerian public was thirsty for telecommunication and there is no end to their service needs. Nigerians telecom market has become one of the fastest growing in the world. The banks were in for it.

Today, the banking consolidation has guaranteed maximum access to funding for telecom companies. In a forum in Lagos recently most bank CEOs assured that due to the realization that telecommunication has become a key driver of the Nigerian economy, banks have decided to join hands in funding telecom companies. This development has also put businesses back into the hands of small scale Nigerian businesses.

Now that GSM operators seem to be self sustaining, banks' focus should be turned to revitalizing PTOs. This is most needed in this period of unified licensing when funds might become an issue with some private telecom operators. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should also not be overlooked in this era of funding.

While some of the operators are in fear of extinction, it should be noted that this could be avoided if banks should replicate what they did with telecom companies.